§ 422.6
400 words·~2 min read·
/ca/penal-code/422-6A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
(a)A person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall not, by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of a right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in subdivision
(a)of Section 422.55.
(b)A person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall not knowingly deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property of any other person for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with the free exercise or enjoyment of a right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States, in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in subdivision
(a)of Section 422.55.
(c)A person convicted of violating subdivision
(a)or
(b)shall be punished either by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the above imprisonment and fine, or pursuant to subdivision
(h)of Section 1170. In addition to that punishment, the court shall order the defendant to perform a minimum of community service, not to exceed 400 hours, to be performed over a period not to exceed 350 days, during a time other than the person’s hours of employment or school attendance. However, a person shall not be convicted of violating subdivision
(a)based upon speech alone, except upon a showing that the speech itself threatened violence against a specific person or group of persons and that the defendant had the apparent ability to carry out the threat.
(d)Conduct that violates this and any other law, including, but not limited to, an offense described in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11410) of Chapter 3 of Title 1 of Part 4, may be charged under all applicable provisions. However, an act or omission punishable in different ways by this section and another law shall not be punished under more than one law, and the penalty to be imposed shall be determined as set forth in Section 654.